Hale and Hearty Words

January 28, 2013 · 6:00 am

He Speaks through the Moon

I’ve been thinking a lot about the future.

Hubby and I have been discussing what needs to happen with our family financially, especially because we have baby #3 on the way.

When I quit my job as a teacher six years ago, I did so with the understanding that one day I would go back to teaching, but at the earliest only when all of our children were in school.

But lately I’ve been reconsidering that. It’s getting a bit more difficult to live off of one salary, as many of you know.

So I’ve been praying about returning to work, even part time, to help support the family.

This is not something I desire to do right now– the desire of my heart is to continue being a stay-at-home mom, especially while my children are small.

So with discernment in mind, I’ve been praying and seeking wisdom.

And God has been speaking.

The other day I was reading a book about raising boys, and the chapter on mothers and sons spoke to me loud and clear– it was all about the importance of being a stay-at-home mom if at all possible.

Confirmation? I didn’t think so, but it certainly made me want to consider every last option before returning to work.

And then, the other night, God spoke to me through my oldest son.

My husband and sons and I were driving home from my parents’ house where we’d enjoyed a wonderful dinner for my birthday. The moon was very, very bright, and my sons were enthralled.

The conversation quickly turned to all things outer space, with my three year-old declaring that he wants to be an astronaut when he grows up.

I chimed in with the following: “You know, Mommy has always loved space. I wanted to be an astronaut when I was a little girl.”

My six year-old then spoke with unknown wisdom. “But Mama, you’re a mommy and you’re what God wants you to be.”

My heart was moved. With no idea what I’d been praying about, my son gave me the confirmation I’ve been looking for through a conversation that began about the moon.

I’ll do everything I can to remain at home with them. I’ll work from home, if possible, but I’m not going to give up on being at home just yet.

I am a stay-at-home mom because God called me to it out of a career that I loved. Who knew I’d love being a full-time mom even more.

With that calling comes faith– the faith that God will provide.

Share with me: How has God spoken to you lately? What verses have brought you hope?

Not bored with me yet?? I’m guest posting over on Lindsay Harrel’s blog today. It’s a fun post about marriage and I hope you’ll check it out! 🙂

18 Comments

Filed under The Christian Walk

Tagged as faith, moon, stay-at-home mom, wisdom

January 24, 2013 · 6:00 am

Add Another Candle and Is Age a Turn-Off?

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to meeeeeeeeeee……Happy Birthday to me!

I don’t really feel any older than I did yesterday, or ten years ago for that matter. I bet my body would disagree, though.

And I am proud of every candle on my cake. Each one brings one more year of wisdom and one more year of blessings!

I will be partaking of chocolate cake today because when it’s your birthday, chocolate cake is the only way to go!

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Today’s post is about age. How appropriate. 🙂

Let’s pretend we’re reading a romance novel and we find out that our hero is ten years older than our heroine. As a reader, how does that sit with you?

My guess is that the majority of female readers would be a-okay with this age gap, crediting our hero and his ten years with maturity and wisdom earned by living. It might even make him more appealing to our heroine and our reader. Same thing goes for real life, I’d wager.

My husband is four years older than I. I like to remind him that I was in the 8th grade when he finished high school. Perhaps the age gap would have mattered in those years (my parents would never have let me date a boy 4 years older when I was in high school), but now, the age gap doesn’t matter at all.

But what about when the age gap goes the other way? What about when she is older than he?

Recently I was having a conversation with a friend about dating and she let me in on her little prejudice against younger men. She’s single, thirty, and feels like dating younger basically equates to dating someone less worthy.

Hmm…. But what if he’s the one? What if God has designed him just for you but because he’s two or three or four years younger, you won’t give him the time of day?

How young is too young when it comes to relationships when the woman is older?

Now, let’s set some parameters here. I’m not talking May-December romances, gold-diggers, or “cougars”, which clearly deserve a post all to themselves with serious psychiatric evaluation.

I’m strictly talking about women and the possibility of dating/marrying someone younger than themselves within a reasonable age gap.

The question is then– what is a reasonable age gap if the woman is older than the man?

I personally know a couple of gals who have married men who are three years younger than themselves. Acceptable? What about four years? Unacceptable?

Put it in this context– if you were reading a romance novel and the heroine was older than the hero, how many years is acceptable between them? How many years between them suddenly becomes “weird” or unacceptable and would cause you to toss the book aside?

Share with me: Would you date a younger man? How many years between a story heroine, if she’s older, and a hero is acceptable to you? Why do you think there’s more of a “stigma” for women who date/marry younger men than there is for a similar age gap if the man is older?

Enjoy my birthday, readers! Have a piece of cake (chocolate) in my honor. 🙂

17 Comments

Filed under Romance

Tagged as age, age gap, birthday, cougar, may-december, novel, reading, romance

January 17, 2013 · 6:00 am

Is “Middle Child Syndrome” Really a Thing?

As we get closer and closer to meeting our new baby boy, I look at my other two sons and I wonder…

How is the introduction of a new baby brother going to change them? How will the dynamic of our family change?

Only time will tell, I know, but I can’t imagine there will be any drastic changes. When our second came along, he sort of just fit in with what we were already doing. There will be a learning curve of having a new baby in the house, sure, but I think that we’ll adapt to a routine that he sort of just…fits into.

But I wonder how his introduction to our family will change his brothers.

Our oldest will be a few weeks away from turning seven when the baby arrives. He’s gregarious, outspoken, dramatic, and has the most sensitive heart for people.

Our current youngest will be four in June. He’s all mischief. He’s our little “evil genius,” as we call him. He tends toward shyness in public, more so than his brother, but once he’s comfortable, he turns into the class clown.

And both of them are 100% boy. Daredevils who imagine themselves to be superheros or Ninja Turtles all the time.

So when their baby brother comes, how will they change?

I haven’t done a ton of study on birth order, but I do know a little bit. Enough to know that I’m most curious (and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit a little nervous) about my soon-to-be middle child. The one who’s full of mischief.

I wonder if he’ll spend the rest of his years suffering from “middle child syndrome.” According to this article from MSNBC, middle children spend their lives vying for attention and resentful of their siblings and parents.

But I wonder if that has as much to do with parenting style as it does with the actual birth order.

On the flip-side, this article from NPR talks about perks of being a middle child– that the lack of pressure on the child from the parent allows the child to discover their own talents and excel. They can become expert listeners and negotiators and develop keen skills in the business world.

Perhaps middle child syndrome isn’t a real thing at all.

Perhaps it is. Anyone watch this past week’s episode of Downton Abbey? Poor Edith and her horrible case of middle child syndrome. She does seem desperate for attention and resentful of her siblings. She’s also made some pretty poor choices in her life and hasn’t always been the most loving sister…

I’m the oldest child of three in my family. My husband is the oldest child of three in his family.

I suppose I ought to do an unofficial survey of our middle siblings and see what they think.

For now, I’ll leave it to you.

Share with me: What do you think about Middle Child Syndrome? As a parent or a middle child yourself, how does middle child syndrome affect that child, the family, and how can parents be better aware of it?